White House goes saatvik!

By Hindustan Times

New Delhi, July 14 -- The White House will eat out of an Indian chef's cooking pot on July 29. India-born Vikas Khanna, who has also been voted New York's hottest chef, has been invited to whip up some 'spiritual food' at the Hindu American Seva Conference to be held at the US President's home.

"It is a great honour for my family, my city and my motherland, India," says Khanna, a chef, writer and filmmaker all rolled into one. He learned cooking in his grandmother's kitchen in Amritsar, and worked in the Iskcon temple kitchen in Delhi for a while.

The chef plans to make a saatvik, vegetarian meal for the coveted dinner, and add elements from various faiths. "It will include vada pao from the streets of Mumbai, sookhi yellow daal, aloo tamatar from the langar at the Golden Temple, tawa roti to honour my grandmother, Biji, who taught me how to cook, and seviyan to honour Ramadan," he says.